FOK | Mariken de Nimègue | European Premiere

Thursday 18 June 2026, 7.30 pm
Smetana Hall, Municipal House, Prague, CZ

Ludwig van BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 6 in F major “Pastoral”, op. 68
Bohuslav MARTINŮ: Mariken de Nimègue, H 236/2 I 
​– European premiere of the first version of the opera (concert performance)

Prague Symphony Orchestra FOK 
Tomáš Netopil (conductor)
Prague Philharmonic Choir
Lukáš Kozubík (choirmaster)

Simona Šaturová (Mariken)
Jiří Brückler ((Devil)
Bella Adamova (Virgin Mary)
Daniel Matoušek (Mascaron)
Pavel Švingr (Son of God)
Vladimír Polívka (narrator)

The European premiere of the newly discovered first version of the opera Mariken de Nimègue, H 236/2 I, is an extraordinary event not only within the FOK concert season. This production is based on a critical edition prepared by the Bohuslav Martinů Institute as part of the comprehensive project The Bohuslav Martinů Complete Edition (BMCE).

Martinů composed the one-act opera Mariken de Nimègue based on a medieval Dutch Marian miracle during his stay in Paris in 1933 to a French text by Henri Ghéon. This is the unpublished and unperformed first version of the opera. The second and final version was created in 1934, which Martinů included in his Czech-language opera cycle Hry o Marii (The Plays of Mary), H 236. The reason for creating the second version was therefore the need to adapt the music to the Czech translation of Vilém Závada's libretto. The first version of the opera differs from the Czech version largely in the orchestration, the setting of the French text and the extensive original musical material, which Martinů no longer used in the second version.

Its premiere in Prague follows the world premiere at the Bard Festival in 2025 and offers Czech audiences a unique opportunity to discover a lesser-known yet exceptionally compelling part of Martinů’s legacy. 

The work is based on a medieval Dutch legend about a girl named Mariken, who succumbs to the devil’s temptation, undergoes moral and physical suffering, and ultimately finds redemption. Mariken reflects the composer’s interest in theatrical forms and in the fusion of archaic and modern musical elements. This early version of the opera, long considered lost, is one of the fundamental works of the composer’s output from the 1930s and foreshadows his later focus on musical drama and oratorio.

The evening is rounded out by Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony, whose lyrical atmosphere and imagery of nature provide a contrasting framework to the dramatic story of Mariken. 

More information about the concert:
https://prazskyfilharmonickysbor.cz/en/events/martinu-with-prague-symphony-orchestra-fok/
https://www.fok.cz/en/beethoven-pastoral-symphony

More information about the critical edition of the work:
https://www.martinu.cz/en/martinu/work/published-volumes/mariken-de-nimegue/